United and Southwest Airlines are expanding in the West, resulting in new flights and other changes for travelers.
On Oct. 1, United will begin a new shuttle service, with low fares and fewer amenities, between many West Coast cities. The move is intended to help the airline compete against Southwest Airlines, whose combination of low fares and limited service has made it a popular and rapidly expanding carrier.Initial service on Shuttle by United will include service between eight pairs of cities like San Francisco-Los Angeles, Los Angeles-Oakland, and San Francisco-Las Vegas. By December, the shuttle service will be expanded to routes between 14 pairs of cities.
United said fares will be as low as $62 for a one-way last-minute ticket. To distinguish itself from Southwest Airlines, a competitor on many of these routes, United offers assigned seating, which Southwest Airlines does not.
Southwest Airlines is expanding, on Oct. 4, when it said it will begin 41 daily flights out of Salt Lake City. It plans to serve 13 cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle and St. Louis.
The new flights in Salt Lake City result from Southwest's decision last year to buy Morris Air, a fledgling carrier based in Salt Lake City that modeled itself after Southwest. Because the airlines' operations were so similar, Southwest said it needed less time than it had expected to merge the carriers.